Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Alan Deville.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 September 2018 be agreed as a correct record.

It was agreed that all items would be considered in public.

The Service Manager for Community Safety was joined by the Chief Inspector for Neighbourhoods and Partnership and Inspector for Neighbourhoods and Partnership from the West Area Borough Command Unit (BCU), to address the meeting regarding the Police opinion of the new policing structures in Hillingdon.

The Inspector for Neighbourhoods and Partnership informed the Committee that she had been in post since June 2018 and was new to Hillingdon. Her role included responsibility for Hillingdon, Hounslow and Ealing, and through regular meetings with various areas of the Council, it was possible to ensure that the Police and Council were working towards the same goals.

The Chief Inspector of Neighbourhoods and Partnership confirmed that he had also been in post since June 2018, having previously worked in Ealing Borough. The role included responsibility for West Area Command, and reported to the Superintendent and then Borough Commander. Members heard that it was important to manage strategic relationships across the three boroughs, which may have varied objectives. Regular meetings with the Service Manager for Community Safety help the organisations to work together and ensures that the best solutions come through a joint use of powers.

The Committee heard that a major benefit of the new BCU structure was that neighbouring boroughs can benefit from Hillingdon’s good practice, while it was possible for Hillingdon to import good practice from both Hounslow and Ealing. Members were informed that issues often arise during change, and this was no different with the management level thinned down significantly, but despite the learning curve and changes, the new system was working well.

Councillors queried how information from the Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNT) and Ward Panels were fed into the Community Safety Team (CST), and were informed that the changes in structure mean that there is now an Inspector for Neighbourhood Policing for all of Hillingdon, and one sergeants for every three wards. It was not always possible to have a sergeant at every quarterly Ward Panel meeting to discuss ongoing crime trends, and often less experienced officers may be present, but there was room to improve how the information was fed in to the CST. The Chief Inspector confirmed that the BCU was recruiting new talent as Dedicated Ward Officers (DWO), and an increase in numbers would improve attendance at Ward Panel meetings.

It was confirmed that CST meetings were attended by ward panel representatives and Councillors, and this, coupled with the meetings that the Police have with the Anti-Social Behaviour Team (ASBIT) and CST to share priorities, allow the opportunity to feed in information from the Ward Panel meetings. The Committee heard that the Inspector for Neighbourhood Policing, who was in charge of the SNT, also had a monthly meeting with the Service Manager for Community Safety, ASBIT and other relevant teams, and this provided another important opportunity to share information between teams.

The Inspectors confirmed that they were happy with the links with Local Authorities, and the solutions to tackling major issues, such as moped crime or high-risk  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

RESOLVED: That the forward plan be noted.

RESOLVED: That the work programme be noted, subject to the following changes:

1.    A further witness session be added to Review A in January 2019, and the Findings and Final Report are moved later accordingly;

2.    The item to agree a topic for Review B be moved to a later date in 2019; and

3.    The update on the past review into Recruitment be moved to January 2019.